Variable dispenser of ribbon segments



Oct. 20, 1959 Filed Aug. 4, 1955 J. A. DREHER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. JOHN A. DREHER AGENT J. A. DREHER VARIABLE DISPENSER OF RIBBON SEGMENTS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 4, 1955 z INVENTOR.

' JOHN A. DREHER AGENT Oct. 20, 1959 J. A. DREHER 2,909,222

VARIABLE DISPENSER OF RIBBON SEGMENTS Filed Aug. 4, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 OODDOQQOQD INVENTOR.

JOHN A. DREHER AGE-NT United States Patent VARIABLE DISPENSER 0F RIBBON SEGMENTS John A. Dreher, Trucksville, Pa., assignor to General Cigar Co. Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application August 4, 1955, Serial No. 526,410

9 Claims. (Cl. 164-226) This invention relates to dispensing segments of a tenuous ribbon and more particularly to a machine for unwinding rolls of such ribbon of various widths and delivering segments of the unwound ribbon of various shapes and sizes to a desired work locus.

The problem of automatically taking off a soft and tender sheet from a roll thereof and severing segments of a desired size from the unrolled sheet which are'deposited in a smooth condition in a predetermined work area has become commercially important with the recent development of tobacco sheets of the type disclosed in US. Patents 2,592,553 and 2,592,554 to W. G. Frankenburg and P. W. Garbo. The ribbon segments are used as tobacco bunch binders in the manufacture of cigars and cigarillos.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 303,210, filed August 8, 1952, which discloses the first successful machine to have been adopted on a large commercial scale for dispensing tobacco sheet segments as binders for cigars and cigarils.

The size and shape of binders vary with the size and shape of the cigars or cigarillos in which they are utilized. Thus, tobacco ribbons for cigarillos are generally narrower than those for cigars and the length of the ribbon segments will dififer with the type and size of cigar or cigarillo. Each of the machines according to my aforesaid application which have been designed and installed to dispense tobacco ribbon segments is capable of delivering only one selected size and shape of segment. In other words, a cigar factory must have a set of these m achines to handle the various sizes and shapes of binders that are required in the manufacture of a line of cigars and cigarillos. A set of such machines involves a large number of units but only some of the units are attached to cigar-making machines at any time. Besides the substantial investment in units which are idle part of the time, considerable time and labor are expended to change the unit attached to a cigar-making machine each time a cigar or cigarillo of a different size or shape is to be produced.

The ribbon segment dispenser of this invention is an improvement of the machine disclosed in my aforesaid copending application because it is capable of delivering tobacco sheet binders of any desired shape and size. The machine of this invention may be easily adjusted to alter the size and shape of the binders it dispenses and, there: fore, is the first universal binder layer ever devised.

In accordance with this invention, segments of a weak and limp ribbon are dispensed from a roll thereof in a smooth condition in a predetermined work area by the steps of holding the starting or leading end of the ribbon against a permeable surface with suction, gently pulling the thus held leading end away from the ribbon roll and over the desired work area while the roll is rotatably held in a fixed position, severing from the pulled out portion of the ribbon and at an oblique angle to the lateral edges of the ribbon the desired" segment while the pulled v 2,909,222 Patented Oct. 20, 1959 out portion is held in a smooth condition in the predetermined work area and repeating the holding, pulling and severing steps using the new leading end of the ribbon which is formed with each severing step. The invention contemplates means for rotatably holding the roll of ribbon in a fixed position, shuttle means adapted to move reciprocatingly away from and toward the fixed position of the ribbon roll, suction means mounted on the shuttle means operative to hold the leading end of the ribbon while the shuttle means is moving in one of its tworeciprocating directions and to release and thereby pay out the ribbon while the shuttle means is moving in the other of its" two reciprocating directions, and cutting means operative to sever at an oblique angle to the lateral edges of the ribbon a desired ribbon segment from the payed out ribbon during the completion of each movement of the shuttle means during which the ribbon is payed out.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference v is now made to the accompanying drawings of which:

Figure 1 is an elevation of apparatus forming a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is essentially a right end view of the apparatus taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1 Figure 3 is a sectional View taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 1; e

Figure 4 is an enlarged partial elevation like Figure 1 but shows the vacuum roll of the apparatus in section as indicated by the line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a sectional plantaken along the line 5- of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a plan view of the suction die on which the desired ribbon segment or binder is laid;

. Figure 7 is an enlarged plan view of a modified form of the back-up or reversing arrangement for the suction roll of the apparatus of Figure 1; and e Figure 8 is a diagrammatic elevation showing the principal movements of the apparatus during operation.

The apparatus comprises a supporting frame A having two horizontal bars 10, 11 and two vertical bars 12, 13 which are screwed or otherwise rigidly fastened together to form a rectangular frame. As shown in Figure 1, supporting frame A may be mounted on post pedestals 14, 15 to which it is fastened by bolt clamps 16, 17. Upper bar 11 has a bracket 18 in which an axle rod 19 is rigidly held by bolt clamp 20. Axle 19 carries a rotatable sleeve 21 which is provided with two arms 22, 23. At the end of arm 22 is mounted a freely rotatable idler roll 24, while arm 23 carries a counterweight 25 which may be set closer to or farther from sleeve 21 as desired. A rotatable bearing sleeve 19a surrounds axle 19 and sup ports two spool ends 26, 27 between which a roll 28 of the tenuous ribbon is inserted. The inner tapered faces 26a, 27a of spool ends 26, 27, are pressed into frictional engagement with the ends of hollow core 29 on which the ribbon roll 28 is wound. Spool end 27 is pressed onto one end of bearing sleeve 19a and spool end 26 is adjustably fastened by a set screw onto the other end of sleeve 19a. Thus, ribbon roll 28 rotates as a unit with spool ends 26, 27 and sleeve 19a about axle 19 and is kept on axle 19 by collar 30 which is adjustably clamped on axle 19. A sensitive brake to control the rotation of roll 28 is provided by rigid bracket 32 extending from frame A of the machine and holding one end of a leather strip or brake band 33 which is looped around a circumferential groove 31 on spool end 27 and which has its other end attached to a light coil spring 34 suspended from peg 35 on arm 22. As shown in Figure 1, ribbon R from roll 28 loops around idler roll 24 and extends downwardly to lower portions of the machine. When a downward pull is exerted on the ribbon, idler 24 moves clockwise since it is attached to rotatable sleeve 21 by arm 22; such clockwise movement of idler 24 causes slack ening of the loop comprising band 33 and spring 34 with the result that ribbon roll 28 with spool ends 26, 27 and bearing sleeve 19a is free to rotate on axle 19 and the ribbon is unwound from roll 28 as it is pulled over idler 24 toward the lower portion of the machine. When the pull on the ribbon is stopped, idler 24 moves counterclockwise to its original position under the influence of counterweight 25 which has also been displaced clockwise while the ribbon was being pulled. Obviously, with the return of idler 24 and arm 22 to the original position, brake band 33 again engages groove 31 of spool end 27 and keeps the ribbon roll 28 from unraveling itself through momentunt.

A movable frame B having two horizontal bars 36, 37 and twovertical bars 38, 39 which are rigidly fastened together in the form of a rectangle is provided with a central post 40 which is rigidly mounted to the movable frame at clamp block 41 on bar 36 and at clamp bar 42 on bar 37. The opposite ends of post 40 pass slidably through bearing blocks 43, 44 mounted on bars 10, 11, respectively, of the supporting frame. The tab ends of bars 36, 37 project behind bars 12, .13 and are in sliding contact with the back faces of bars 12, 13. A clamp block 45 is fixed on post 40 and link bar 46 pivotally hangs therefrom, the lower end of link bar 46 being pivotally attached to cam lever or bell crank 47. The corner of crank 47 is pegged to bar 13 by pivotal rod 48 mounted on bar 13 while the lowermost end of crank 47 is provided with a roller bearing 49 which rides against the periphery of cam disk 50. A driven shaft 51 passes through bar 13 and imparts rotation to cam disk 50 mounted thereon with the result that when roller 49 is riding on the smaller radius arc of cam disk 50 (as shown in Figure l) movable frame B with central post 40 drops to its lowest position, but when roller 49 is riding on the larger radius arc of cam disk 50 movable frame B is raised to its highest position, the vertical reciprocating motion of movable frame B being transmitted from cam disk 50 through bell crank 47 and link bar 46 which is pivotally attached to central post 40' of the movable frame.

A rod 52 is held in spaced, parallel relation to the face of bar 36 by clamp blocks 53, 54 mounted on bars 38, 39, respectively. Another rod 55 is similarly held in spaced, parallel relation to bar 37 by clamp blocks 56, 57 mounted on bars 38, 39, respectively. Rod 52 passes through slide block 58 and rod 55 passes through slide block 59, slide blocks 58, 59 being connected to one another by plate 60 to form a slidable frame C.

A link bar 61, preferably of adjustable length, is pivotally attached at one of its ends to slide block 58 of slidable frame C and at its other end to cam arm 62. The lowermost end of cam arm 62 is pivotally pegged to bar arm 62 is provided with a roller 64 which rides in cam 13 by bolt 63 while the lower corner of angulated cam track 65 of internal face cam 66 that is mounted on driven shaft 51. The upper end of cam arm 62 has a slot 62A and the pivotal attachment of link 61 to cam arm 62 is held at any desired point along slot 62A by tightening bolt 62B. To steady the operation of cam 66, a support bar 67 is held in spaced, parallel relation to bar 13 by bolts 48, 63 and is provided with bearing 68 to receive the free end of driven shaft 51. Thus, when driven shaft 51 rotates, not only do cam disk 50 and bell crank 47 cause movable frame B to oscillate vertically but also cam 66 and cam arm 62 cause slidable frame C to oscillate horizontally. It is clear that slidable frame C with its associated elements provides shuttle means adapted for reciprocating motion relative to supporting frame A.

A gear rack 69 is horizontally fastened to bars 38, 39 of movable frame B while a gear wheel 70 which meshes with gear rack 69 is rotatably mounted on axle bolt 71 extending from the face of plate 60 of slidable frame C. Axle bolt 71 also supports another gear wheel 72 which has an integral ratchet 73. A small pawl 74 mounted on the face of gear wheel 70 locks with ratchet 73 when slidable frame C moves from right to left as viewed in Figure 1 and thus causes gear wheel 72 to rotate clockwise together with gear wheel 70. A large pawl 75 is suspended from plate 60 and also locks with ratchet 73 during most of the time when slidable frame C slides from left to right to stop rotation of gear wheel 72 while gear wheel 70 turns counterclockwise and pawl 74 slips over the serrated surface of ratchet 73. Pawl 75 slips over the surface of ratchet 73 when slidable frame C is sliding from right to left and gear wheels 70, 72 are both rotating clockwise, being locked together by pawl 74 and ratchet 73.

Slide block 58 of slidable frame C has a dependent tab portion 76 with a recess to receive the plugged end of hollow shaft 77. Hollow shaft 77 is held in a fixed position in tab 76 by set screw 78. As shown in Figure 4, shaft 77 has two longitudinal ribs 79, 80 and a slit aperture 81. A cylindrical casing 82 is rotatably mounted on shaft 77 with the ends 83, 84 of casing 82 hearing against shoulders 85, 86 on shaft 77. Casing end 84 is provided with gear teeth 87 which mesh with the teeth of gear wheel 72 so that rotation of gear wheel 72 imparts rotation to cylindrical casing 82. When gear wheel 72 rotates clockwise, meshing gear 87 causes cylindrical casing 82 to rotate on fixed, hollow shaft 77 counterclockwise. The free, open end of shaft 77 is used for attaching thereto a flexible hose (not shown) connected to a vacuum pump. Thus, when a vacuum is drawn in hollow shaft 77, a vacuum is also drawn in that portion of the annular space between shaft 77 and casing 82 which lies to the left of ribs 79, 80 (Figure 4) since that portion of the annular space communicates with the core of hollow shaft 77 through aperture 81. Since cylindrical casing 82 is provided with a multiplicity of perforations 88, air will be sucked in through each perforation 88 while it is rotatively traveling counterclockwise from rib 80 to rib 79 over the vacuumized portion of the annular space between shaft 77 and casing 82. in the continued rotative travel of each perforation 88 from the point of radial alignment with rib 79 to the point of radial alignment with rib 80, air is not sucked in through such perforation 88 because the portion of the annular space between shaft 77 and casing 82 which lies to the right of ribs 79, 80 (Figure 4) does not communicate with the vacuumized core of hollow shaft 77. It is thus seen that ribs 79, 80 attached to hollow shaft 77 form a compartmentalizing element in cylindrical casing 82.

To operate the apparatus which may be called a vacuum roll machine, the tenuous ribbon R from roll 28 is looped over idler roll 24 and under idler roll 89 which rotates freely on axle 90 mounted on slide block 58 of slidable frame C and finally ribbon R is looped over rotatable casing 82 of the vacuum roll. With an operating vacuum pump connected by flexible tubing attached to the open end of hollow shaft 77, air is sucked in through the vacuumized perforations 88 of casing 82 which lie to the left of ribs 79, 80 on shaft 77 (Figure 4) with the result that the portion of ribbon R which loops over casing 82 and covers the vacuumized perforations 88 adheres to the outer surface of casing 82. Since the invention not only dispenses a soft and tender ribbon from a roll thereof as a smooth flat sheet but also cuts the ribbon into a plurality of sheets of equal length, a fixed knife blade 91 is so positioned relative to casing 82 that the knife edge of blade 91 contacts the outer surface of casing 82 when slidable frame C which carries the vacuum roll is nearing the end of its sliding travel to the left and simulta neously when movable frame B which carries slidable frame C is at the end of its downward movement.

As previously stated, an outstanding feature of the apparatus of this invention is its universal adaptability for dispensing ribbon segments of any desired shape and size. Study of the various cigars and cigarillos which are commonly sold revealed that ribbon segments cut as non-rectangular parallelograms, preferably those in which each acute angle is approximately'65 arid each obtuse angle is 115, are best suited as binders in the manufacture of cigars and cigarillos of all types. For this reason,

knife blade 91 is positioned at an oblique angle to the lateral edges of the ribbon payed out by the machine. Cigar-making machines are generally'provided with a binder die on which the desired binder is laid. As shown in Figures 1 and 5, binder die 92 is placed so that the vacuum roll travels back and forth over it as the shuttle means of the machine is reciprocated.

Because of the oblique position of knife blade 91, the cutting of the ribbon starts when the vacuum rollcontacts the end portion of blade 91 nearest gear wheel 72 and terminates when the vacuum roll contacts the opposite end of blade 91. As will be evident from Figure 5, when the cutting is completed, the portion of the new leading endof the ribbon which forms an acute angle will have no support and hence will hang down from cylindrical casing 82 as shown in Figure 4. If the new leading end of the ribbon is kept in this partially hanging condition and the shuttle means travels to the end of die 92 opposite the end with knife 91, when the ribbon is laid on die 92 during the reverse travel of the shuttle means, the hanging portion will be folded on itself. Ac cordingly, it is not possible under such circumstances to dispense the ribbon segment on die'92 in a completely smooth, condition whichis necessary for the proper functioning of the cigar-making machine.

This difiiculty is overcome by a back-up or reversing arrangementvwhich causes the vacuum roll to revolve partially in the direction counter to that which pays out the ribbon. The amount of backing up of casing 82 is just sufiicient so that the hanging portion of the new leading end of the ribbon is sucked smoothly against casing 82 by the vacuumized perforations 88 to the left of radial rib 79' (Figure 4) The back-up arrangement has two basic parts, bumper '93 which causes pawl 75 to' disengage with ratchet 73 and gear rack 94 which simultaneously engages gear wheel 72. This back-up arrangement is positioned so that bumper 93 and gear rack 94 contact pawl 75 and gear wheel 72, respectively, substantially when casing 82 first contacts knife blade 91 and starts severing the payed out ribbon. During the cutting of the ribbon, gear wheel 72 is rotated by the double engagement of small pawl 74 with ratchet 73 and gear rack 94 with gear wheel 72, acting in unison. When the cutting of the ribbon is completed and the shuttle means starts its reverse movement, gear wheel 72 will back-up or rotate counterclockwise as long as it is in engagement 'with gear rack 94 and pawl 75 is held bybumper 93 out of contact with ratchet 73.

Both bumper 93 and gear rack 94 are fastened to movable frame B. Gear rack 94 is shown held to the front of gear rack 69 by screws 95 passing through slots 96 which make it possible to adjust the position of gear rack 94 along the direction of movement of slidable frame C and thereby adjust the amount of back-up. The more that gear rack 94 is positioned toward the right (Figure l), the greater will be the amount of back-up of gear wheel 72 and, in turn, casing 82. As already stated, gear rack 94 and bumper 93, which is adjustably fastened thereto, are positioned to contact gear wheel 72 and pawl 75, respectively, at about the moment when casing 32 first contacts oblique knife blade 91 and starts severing the payed out ribbon.

Upon completion of the cutting of the ribbon, slidable frame C will start its reverse movement and the vacuum roll will back-up until the aXis thereof has passed over the point where the cutting of the ribbon was started. At that moment, pawl 75 drops into locking position with ratchet 73 and gear wheel 72leaves gear rack 94 with the result that further back-up rotation of the vacuum roll is stopped. However, the portion of the leading end of the ribbon which was hanging below the vacuum roll when the cutting of the ribbon was completed is now held smoothly against the surface of the vacuum roll with the acute angle tip of the ribbon directly below radial rib 79 (Figure 4). Thus held, the leading end of the ribbon is ready to be laid down smoothly on binder die 92 as soon as slidable frame C reaches the end of its travel to the right (Figure 1) and starts its reverse movement during which the vacuum roll rotates counterclockwise to pay out the ribbon.

The importance of the back-up or reversing arrangement of the machine of this invention is evident from the amount of ribbon hanging down from the vacuum roll at the end of each cutting operation. For instance, when cigar binders are cut from a ribbon 3 /8 inches in width at an angle of 65 to a lateral edge thereof, the acute angle tip of the new leading end of the ribbon will hang down from the vacuum roll approximately 178 inches. Cigarillo binders similarly cut from a ribbon only 2% inches Wide leave a tip of the ribbon hanging about 1 inch below the vacuum roll.

Figure 6 shows that suction die 92 is in the form of a parallelogram in which the ends meet the sides at angles of about 65 and 115. The top plate of die 92 is perforated so that air may be sucked therethrough by the vacuum chamber within die 92 and thus hold in place the ribbon segment laid on die 92. Knife blade 91 is fastened to the left end of die 92 by screws 97. Spacer strips 98 of varying widths and/ or number may bev inserted between blade 91 and the left end of die 92 to adjust the, length of the surface on which the desired ribbon segments are to be deposited.

It is well to, observe that, even if the corners of die 92 u are angles of 65 and 115, the angle at which the ribbon segments are cut may be changed. In such case, spacer strips 98 are tapered along their length and by using strips 98 of varying tapers the acute angle at which the ribbon is severed may be adjusted as desired. -It should also be noted that the ribbon segment laid on die 92 does not necessarily cover its entire surface. -In fact, die 92 is generally made to handle the largest ribbon segments that are anticipated to be required but it may be used with ribobns that are narrower and/or shorter. In short, die 92 will function with ribbon segmentsof various widths, lengths and angles of cutting.

The back-upor reversing feature of the machine has already been described as having two basic parts, bumper 93 and gear rack 94. Figure 7 shows a modification of the back-up arrangement in which gear rack 94 is replaced by a friction clutch. This clutch comprises friction washer 99 placed between gear wheel 70 and ratchet 73, and adjustable spring-loaded means 100 to vary the pressure and thereby the friction between gear wheel 70 and ratchet 73 through washer 99. Thus, when gear wheel 70 starts its reverse rotation at the completion of cutting the ribbon, gear wheel 70 will drive both ratchet 73 and gear wheel 72 connected thereto as long as pawl is held out of engagement with ratchet 73 by bumper 93. However, as soon as pawl 75 drops into engagement with ratchet 73, the back-up rotation of gear wheel 72 is immediately stopped while gear wheel 70 continues its reverse rotation with slipping at friction washer 99.

With ribbon R looped over casing 82 and held thereon by vacuum and with the vacuum roll at the position shown in Figure 1, where the cutting of ribbon R has just been completed, the machine will go through the following movements. When power is applied to shaft 51 to rotate it clockwise, cam disk 50 and bell crank 47 raise movable frame B and simultaneously internal face cam 66 and cam arm 62 pull slidable frame C to the right. While frame B is held in the raised position and frame C is being pulled to the right, gear wheels 70 and 72 are being rotated counterclockwise by gear racks 69 and 94, respectively. As soon as casing 82 is over the part rack 94. At that moment, gear wheel 72 and casing 82 which has a gear teeth 87 meshing with those of wheel 72 stop rotating. At the end of substantially one-half turn of'cams 50, 66, frame B is dropped to its lowered position and the movement of frame C toward the right is terminated. During the second half turn of cams 50, 66, frame B remains in its lowered position while frame C is pushed to the left by cam arm 62 and link bar 61. While frame C is moving toward the left, gear 'rack 69 is rotating gear wheel 70 clockwise with the result that pawl 74 on wheel 70 locks into ratchet 73, causing gear wheen 72 to turn clockwise and casing 82 to turn wheel 72 to turn clockwise and casing 82 to turn counterclockwise. When casing 82 is rotated counterclockwise, the acute angle tip of the leading end of ribbon R is moved from the point of radial alignment with rib 79 toward the right but to the right of rib 79 casing 82 is not vacuumized and, therefore, ribbon R falls or peels off casing 82. As soon as casing 82 begins to roll over oblique knife blade 91, the cutting of ribbon R is commenced and, simultaneously, pawl 75 is pushed out of contact with ratchet 73 and gear wheel 72 engages gear rack 94. At the end of the second half turn of shaft 51, casing 82 has traversed the length of oblique blade 91 and has severed ribbon R obliquely by its contact with blade 91. At the same time, frame C has terminated its sliding movement to the left. From this point on, the cyclic operation repeats itself, starting with the raising of frame B and the pulling of frame C toward the right as already described.

Various modifications of the invention will be apparent from the foregoing disclosure. For instance, bracket 18 which holds the spool of ribbon does not need to be mounted on supporting frame A and may have an independent pedestal. Also, the vacuum roll machine may be altered to omit the vertical movements obtained through the incorporation of movable frame B and its associated elements like cam lever 47; in such case, the fixed knife blade 91 might be replaced by one which moves up and strikes the underside of casing 82 when frame C is in position to cut the ribbon and then drops away from casing 82 when frame C starts its movement to the right. In some instances, the machine may be altered to omit both the vertical movement of frame B and the vertical movement of blade 91; this may be accomplished by so positioning blade 91 with relation to die 92 that the cutting edge of blade 91 is in a plane above the top surface of die 92. For instance, the cutting edge of blade 91 may be approximately inch higher than the top surface of die 92 and the lowermost portion of the surface of casing 82 may be reciprocated horizontally by frame C in a plane which substantially coincides with the plane of the cutting edge of blade 91 so that casing 82 rotatingly rides on the cutting edge of blade 91 but clears the surface of die 92 and a ribbon segment laid thereon. Furthermore, link bar 61, which is shown as comprising means for adjusting its length, may be a simple element of fixed length. Adjustments in the length of bar 61 are desirable for the purpose of centering the ribbon segments with respect to the length of die 92. However, such centering may be alternatively achieved by making the position of die 92 adjustable in relation to the horizontal reciprocations of sliding frame C. While the back-up or reversing means for the vacuum roll is advantageously positioned to be operative when the shuttle means starts its reverse movement following the cutting of the ribbon, it may be placed elsewhere along the path of the reciprocating motions of the shuttle means so long as the required amount of counter-rotation or backing-up of the vacuum roll is completed before the vacuum roll again starts to pay out the ribbon.

In view of the many possible modifications and variations of the invention which will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, only such limitations should be imposed as are indicated by the appended claims.

What is claimed is: I

1. A machine for dispensing a continuous, tenuous ribbon in the form of ribbon segments of variable, predetermined length, 'which comprises a fixed-supporting frame, shuttle means mounted on said supporting frame and adapted for reciprocating motion relative to said supporting frame with a linear amplitude substantially equal to a predetermined length of said ribbon segments, adjustable drive means associated with said shuttle means and adapted to vary said linear amplitude, roll means attached to said shuttle means and rotatably driven during substantially the entire movement of said shuttle means in one of the two directions of said reciprocating motion, said roll means having a hollow casing with a perforated surface to hold said ribbon when a vacuum is drawn in said hollow casing, a cutting blade supported independently of said shuttle means and positioned to contact obliquely said hollow casing while rotatably driven with said roll means, said cutting blade and said hollow casing operating by the contact therebetween to cut obliquely a ribbon segment from said ribbon, and reversing means associated with said shuttle means and said roll means for rotatably driving said roll means during only part of the reverse movement of said shuttle means in the other of the two directions of said reciprocating motion.

2. The machine of claim 1 wherein the hollow casing comprises an internal compartmentalizing element extending from the lowest point within said hollow casing to a point in the upper part of said hollow casing whereby a vacuum may be drawn in only the portion of said hollow casing which is ahead of said lowest point when the roll means is rotatably driven prior to the reverse movement of the shuttle means.

3. The machine of claim 2 which comprises a gear rack and a gear wheel in engagement with said gear rack arranged to drive rotatably said roll means when said shuttle means moves in one of the two directions of said reciprocating motion.

4. The machine of claim 3 wherein the reversing means comprises a second gear rack and a second gear wheel in engagement with said second gear rack.

5. A machine for dispensing ribbon segments from a roll of a tenuous ribbon, which comprises a stationary bracket with rotatable spool means for holding said roll of ribbon, shuttle means which reciprocates in directions away from and toward said bracket, roll means carried by said shuttle means and rotatably driven while said shuttle means moves in one of its two reciprocating directions and to pay out said ribbon, said roll means having a hollow casing with a perforated surface to hold said ribbon when a vacuum is drawn in said hollow casing, cutting means disposed to cut obliquely a ribbon segment from said ribbon during the completion of each movement of said shuttle means during which said roll means is rotatably driven, and reversing means associated with said shuttle means and said roll means to effect counter rotation of said rollmeans during only part of the reverse movement of said shuttle means in the other of the two directions of said reciprocating motion.

6. The machine of claim 5 wherein the hollow casing comprises a tube concentrically disposed in said casing and providing bearings for the rotation of said casing about said tube, partitioning means in the annular space between said casing and said tube to divide said annular space from the lowest point within said casing to a point in the upper part of said casing, and an aperture in said tube providing fluid communication between the interior of said tube and the division of said annular space which is ahead of said lowest point when the roll means is rotatably driven to pay out the ribbon.

7. The machine of claim 5 which comprises a suction die on which the obliquely cut ribbon segment is laid, said cutting means being a knife blade adjustably mounted along one end of said die with the cutting edge of said blade projecting beyond the surface of said die.

8. The process of dispensing obliquely cut segments of a weak and soft ribbon from a roll thereof in a smooth condition in a predetermined work area, which comprises the steps of holding the leading end of said ribbon against the permeable surface of a roller with suction applied through said permeable surface, drawing the thus held leading end over said work area by translatory movement of said roller until said leading end has traversed the length of said work area, thereupon depositing said ribbon on said Work area by releasing the suction on said leading end and rolling down said ribbon on said work area by rotating and reversely translating said roller, cutting the thus deposited portion of said ribbon from the remainder of said ribbon obliquely along the side of said work area I opposite that having said leading end to form the desired segment and a new leading end of said ribbon with an acute angle tip, reversing the rotation of said roller while applying suction to said permeable surface to bring said acute angle tip of said new leading end of said ribbon to the lowest point on said permeable surface, the reversed rotation of said roller being stopped when said acute angle tip is at said lowest point, and translating said roller for depositing said ribbon on said work area as aforesaid.

9. The process of claim 8 wherein the ribbon is cut obliquely at an angle of approximately 65 to a lateral edge thereof.

Lacroix Dec. 5, 1911 Heyman Nov. 3, 1925 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.) 2,909,222 I October 20, 1959 John A. Dreher It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correct-ion and that the said Letters Patent should readas corrected below.

Column 3, line 53, strike out "arm 62 is provided With a roller 64 which rides in cam" and insert the same between lines 54 and 55; column 5 line 37, after "back up" insert or reversing column '7, line 12, strike out "Wheen '72 to turn clockwise and casing 82 to turn".,

Signed and sealed this 5th day of April 1960o (SEAL) Attest:

KARL H. AXLINE, ROBERT C. WATSON Attesting Oflicer Commissioner of Patents 

